Alienation

Job satisfaction is important for workers and social welfare. However, approximately 9.9 millions British workers are unsatisfied with their jobs (BBC News). Alienation can be define as "the state or experience of being isolated from group or an activity to which one should be long or which one should be involve" (Hobson, 2004:16). This essay will analyses whether technology is the major cause of alienation in various industry. It will look in different perspectives; marxism, Blauner, Nicholls and Beynon, Gallie and Zuboff respectively. Karl Marx argues that alienation is an objective state and it is an intrinsic part of capitalist society. Thus, it is an unavoidable (Noon et al, 2013:227). Alienation occurs because "work in industrial capitalist society is the dehumanized opposite of satisfying experience which develops the human capacity for creativity" (Edgell, 2006:29). According to Marx, there are four types of alienation under industrial capitalism. Firstly, product alienation, employees are alienated from product of their labour which is owned by the capitalist and lose control over their product (Noon et al, 2013:227). Secondly, alienation from productive activity. In this type of alienation workers being lost control upon their ability of labouring activity to ensure their being and determine their self-existence (Morrison, 2006:123). A third type of alienation is alienation from human species, from the product and activity alienation incur alienated from their nature species (Edgell,2006:29). Lastly, social alienation, because workers alienated from their normal life. Therefore, people become alienated from each other (Noon et al, 2013:227). Marx states that the solutions of alienated labour is communist and eliminate the specialist division of labour.

However, Marx's view has been criticised by Milovan Djilas (1957). He claims that albeit the…...

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The theme of alienation in Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein
Frankenstein, as a book, is one that is rich with ideas on how mankind can be able to utilize knowledge for evil and good intentions. The book also brings out how some individual, those without knowledge or ‘defected’, are treated by society at large. In another instance, the book helps to illustrate how mankind views and is affected by technology. One of the main characters of the story is Victor Frankenstein. Victor is a young scientist obsessed with finding the unknown secret of life. To this end, he manages to create a creature out of dead organs; in his laboratory. At first, the monster is gentle, but mankind negative attitude and fear towards it manages to change that. To this end, the monster seeks revenge towards its creator; it manages to do so by killing close relatives of its creator. The book clearly illustrates the theme of alienation and the innocent bystanders that are directly affected by it. Frankenstein and his character are presented as one complete thing; with one being a complement of the other. This paper aims to explore and support the theme of alienation in Mary’s book.
The book starts with a clear illustration of alienation in the form of the scientist; victor. Victor has faced alienation almost his entire life. The alienation is seen from his childhood, work, and the society at large. The life of victor is that of science; his mission and goal being that of......